Brick-press.



No. 700,823. Patented May 27, I902. C. W. REYNOLDS.

BRICK PRESS.

(Applicatiog-filed Sept. 12, 1901.]

3 Sheets-Sheot I.

(No Model.)

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No. 700,823. Patented May 27, I902.

C. W. REYNOLDS. 4

BRICK PRESS.

(Application filed. Sept. 12. 1901.

3 Sheets$heet 2 (No Model.)

[NVENTOR W1 YLNESSES:

No. 700,823. Patented May 27, I902.

C. W. REYNOLDS.

BRICK PRESS.

lication filed. Sept. 12, 1901 '1 (No Model.) 3 Sh Shb 3 14 I 3 5 2 1 I a UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

SETH T. POMEROY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

BRICK-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 700,823, dated May 27, 1902. Application filed September 12, 1901- Serial No. 75,219. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that LCHARLES W. REYNOLDS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brick Presses, of which the following is such a full,'clear, and exact description as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for pressing bricks, asphalt blocks, or other material which must be subjected to heavy pressure in order to be given the proper shape.

The invention consists in certain novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the annexed drawings,which fully illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section looking toward the hopper and taken on a plane to show the compressing plunger. Fig; 3 is a vertical section taken through the center of the moldwheel longitudinally of the driving-shaft.

Figs. 4 and. 5 are detail views of the expelling and compressing plungers, respectively. Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views of the sliding mold-bottom, and Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the head-block.

In carrying out my invention I employ a supporting-frame or raised platform A, on which the pressing machinery is mounted. On this platform, about on the medial line of the same and at and near one end thereof, I secure journal-boxes in whicha driving-shaft B is mounted, said driving-shaft carrying a gear-wheel C and a band-pulley D, through which motion may be imparted thereto from any suitable motor. On the inner end of the driving-shaftI secure or form a cam or eccentric E, which is fitted in a compressingplunger F. The driving-shaft also carries a roller or disk G adjacent to said cam and a pinion H between said disk and said cam. The disk or roller G bears against the under side of a mold-wheel I, which rests on and is supported by said disk and similar disks or rollers K, arranged at intervals around and below the same. The pinion I-I. meshes with an annular rack L on the under side of the mold-wheel, so that the motion of the driving-shaft is transmitted directly to the moldwheel. The mold-wheel is held in position by a central bolt M and is supported centrally by an annular shoulder on a hollow post or column N, rising fromthe platform A around said bolt. This bolt lWI passes upward through the mold-wheel and the headblock or presser plate 0 and downward through the platform and a resistance-plate P below the same. This bolt therefore serves not only as a pivot for the mold-wheel, but also serves to secure the head-block in place. The head-block is further secured in position by means of bolts Q, passing through its corners beyond the IllOldsWhGG]. and downward therefrom through the platform and the resistance-plate. Strong springs R are coiled around these bolts between the platform and the resistance-plate and serve to hold the head block downv to the mold-wheel, while at the same time permitting it to yield should a stone or other foreign substance enter between it and the mold-wheel. By having a resistanceplate common to all the bolts I insure the head-block moving evenly throughout and so maintaining its horizontal position. In order that the springs B may not draw the headblock down onto the mold-wheel so strongly that the frictional contact will retard or prevent the rotation of the mold-wheel, I surround or partly surround the bolts Q with casings or columns S and carry the upper end of the post N up to the head-block, so that the said post and columns support the head-block, aswill be readily understood. The mold-wheel is preferably constructed with four molds or openings T, in each of which is a movable mold-bottom U, consisting of a solid block provided at its ends with notches V, adapted to engage ribs W on the ends of the mold-cavities, and also provided with shoulders X, adapted to rest'upon shoulders or'stops Y on the walls of the mold-cavities, the ribs andnotches preventing the mo] dbottoms from dropping out of the molds. As the mold-wheel rotates a mold is carried under the hopper, where it is filled. The moldvbottom is then forced upward to carry the material against the head-block to press the brick and then further raised to the top of the mold to discharge the formed brick. The compressing-plunger F consists of a block having a flat top and slidably fitted in the vertical arms Z of a slide a, mounted in transverse ways 1), arranged on the platform A be low the inner end of the driving-shaft. The movement of the parts is so timed that as the mold-wheel brings a mold over the plunger the cam on the driving-shaft will elevate the plunger against the mold-bottom,and thereby raise th e same, so that the brick will be pressed against the head-block. As the plunger will move faster than the mold-wheel, I find it ad visable to fit antifriction-rolle'rs c in the top of the plunger to reduce the wear. When the mold-wheel has made one-fourth of a revolution after leaving the compressing-plunger,

the mold-bottom will be further raised by the expelling-plunger d to discharge the pressed brick. This plunger consists of a block slidably mounted in the vertical arms e of a slide f, mounted in ways g, arranged longitudinally on the platform near the edge of the same. The plunger is operated by a cam h on a short shaft '5, mounted in suitable bearings on the platform and carrying a pinionj, which meshes with the annular rack on the mold-wheel, so that the motion of the moldwheel will impart motion to said shaft, and thereby operate the expelling-plunger.- The upper end of this plunger is tapered so as to form an extension or finger 7c, adapted to enter the mold, so as to raise the pressed brick clear of the top thereof.

In order to prevent the mold-bottom dropping after it passes the compressing-plunger, and thereby interfering with its proper engagement by the expelling-plunger, I provide a guide or plate Z between the limits of the movements of the two plunger-carrying slides over which the mold-bottom moves and by which it is supported in moving between these two points. This guide-plate is secured on the upper end of a standard or other support m, rising from the platform.

In order that the horizontal movement of the brick while it is pressed up to the headblock may not cause a scraping away of the top of the brick, I provide the movable pressure plate or block n, mounted in a recess in the bottom of the head-block and pivoted at one end on the main securing-bolt M. The free end of this friction-plate is widened sufficiently to cover the mold-opening, and it is held normally toward the initial end of the movement of the mold by a spring 19, coiled around a rod q between the head-block and a nut g on the outer end of the rod. This rod plays in a way or groove rin the head-block, and its inner end is loosely connected with the pressure block or plate. In order to reducethe wear, I provide antifriction-rollerst between the head-block and the upper side of the pressure-block, as shown. When the mold-bottom is raised by the compressingplunger, the brick is forced against this pressure-block and is held, against it with such force as --to cause it to move inward and follow the movement of the brick. As soon as the plunger is Withdrawn from the mold the pressure on the block is relieved and the spring returns it to its initialposition to be engaged by the succeeding brick in the same manner. This block moves in a curved path corresponding to the arc traveled by the mold; but it will not involve a departure from the invention to employa block movingin a straight path. After the pressed brick is raised to the top of the head-block it is pushed from the mold-bottom by a rake consisting of a cross-header plate 2, adapted to move over the mold wheel and across the mold-opening and secu red to the ends of arms slidably mounted in keepers 3 on the head-block. The opposite ends of these arms are connected by a rod 4., having one end extended to play in a slot 5 in the upper end of a lever 6, which is fulcrumed on a bracket '7, projecting from the head-block, and has its lower end depending into the path of a tappet or pin 8 on a disk or wheel 9. This wheel or disk is secured on the inner end of a counter-shaft 10, which is mounted in suitable bearings on the platform and is rotated by the'driving-shaft through the gear-wheel O meshing with a gear-wheel ll'on its outer end. The weight 12, moving in a housing 13, is attached to the rake for the purpose of returning the same to its normal position after a brick has been discharged.

' 14 designates the hopper, in which the material is placed and from which it passes to the molds.

The construction and arrangement of the several parts being thus made known, it is thought the operation of the machine will be readily understood. The hopper is filled with the material to be made into bricks, and the driving-shaft is continuously rotated. The motion of the driving-shaft is imparted to the counter-shaft and the mold-wheel, and the operations of forming, pressing, and discharging the bricks are then performed continuously, automatically, and simultaneously. As the mold-wheel rotates it carries an empty mold under the hopper, and enough material to form a brick then falls into the mold. As the movement of the wheel continues the filled mold is brought into position over the compressing-plunger, by which the mold-bottom is raised, as before described, to press the brick, and the succeeding empty mold is simultaneously brought into position below the hopper. The further continued movebrick over the expelling-plunger, which elevates it to a point clear of the top of the mold- Wheel, after which the rake shoves it from the mold-bottom and onto the upper surface of the mold-wheel, from which it may be removed by an attendant or it may be pushed by the rake onto an endless carrier. When the mold clears the expelling-plunger, the mold-bottom at once drops to its lowest position, and the mold is then ready to receive a second charge of material. The rake is operated to push the brick OK the mold by the pin on the tappetdisk at the inner end of the counter-shaft striking the lower end of the lever, and thereby swinging the same outward and causing the upper end to swing inward. When the end of the lever clears the pin, the weight at once returns the rake to its initial position.

The machine is simple and compact and its operation is rapid and certain.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a brick-press, the combination of a platform or supporting-frame, a head-block supported above said platform, fasteningbolts inserted through the head-block and the platform, a resistanceplate on the lower ends of the bolts, springs coiled around the bolts between the platform and the, resistanceplate, a mold-wheel arranged below the head block, and means for pressing a brick in the mold-wheel against the head-block.

2. The combination of a rotary mold-wheel, means for forming pressing and raising a brick therein, a rake arranged above the mold-wheel to remove the finished brick, a lever connected with and adapted to actuate the rake, a tappet-disk having a pin adapted to impinge against the lower end of said 1e ver, and means for operating the tappet-disk.

8. In a brick-press, the combination of a rotary mold-wheel, a head-block above the same, a vertically-movable mold-bottom in the mold-wheel, means for raising said moldbottom, and a movable plate in the headblock adapted to receive the pressure of the raised mold-bottom.

4. The combination of a rotary mold-wheel, vertically-movable mold-bottoms therein, a plunger adapted to raise a mold-bottom to press a brick, a second plunger adapted to further raise the mold-bottom, means for operating the said plungers, and a supportingplate between the plungers to prevent dropping of the mold-bottom.

5. In a brick-press, the combination of a rotary mold-wheel, aslide belowthe same, a

vertically-movable plunger mounted in the slide and adapted to act on the movable moldbottoms in the mold-wheel, a cam fitted in said plunger, and means for rotating said cam.

6. The combination of the mold-wheel having an annular rack on its under side, a drivin g-shaft carrying a pinion meshing with said annular rack, a compressing-plunger, a cam on the end of the driving-shaft fitted in said plunger, an eXpelling-plunger,a shaft having a cam fitted in said plunger, and a'pinion on said shaft meshing with the annular rack bar on the mold-wheel. I

7. The combination of the mold-wheel hav= ing mold-cavities provided with guiding-ribs on their walls and with stops near their lower ends, and movable mold-bottoms fitted loosely in the mold-cavities having notches engaging the ribs and shoulders engaging said stops.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARLES W. REYNOLDS. WVitnesses:

R. B. BREHAUT, G. O. G001). 

